Peggy's Letters Season 2
by 8belles
Summary: Thank you for the warm reception of Peggy's Letters! I have trolled, scraped and scrimped for details about S2. Here is the beginning of S2. Again Peggy writes to Steve, never expecting to have him read her thoughts while he deals with his modern day issues. May be more thematic instead of sequential as this season has more tropes and so many multiple stories woven within...
1. New Begining

Notes of the Past

 **A/N- First, a huge THANK YOU to all those who read, review and follow Peggy's Letters. I never expected it to generate that many chapters! I troll for spoilers about the upcoming season. From what I've read from SDCC and merging Avengers Age of Ultron with what little I know about Captain America 3, I give you Peggy's Letters Season 2. I've switched up AoU a bit to mesh with my fic more, but hopefully stayed true to the theme.**

* * *

Boxes were strewn across the small Brooklyn apartment like a tornado had just visited. Packing paper alighted upon almost every surface making it look like an origami experiment gone horribly wrong. "Steve! Where's the tape?" Bucky's voice called from his bedroom with the sound of crumpling paper.

"Last time I saw it, you had it." Rogers replied from the dining area where he was wrapping cups and plates. Frowning he continued, "You know, for a guy who's not been in the present for very long, you sure have accumulated a lot of…. Junk."

The brunette head of James poked out from the doorway of his room, hair sloppily pulled up in a bun, glowered back at his best friend. "At least my "junk" is useful." He shook the butt of the pistol in his left hand at Cap for emphasis, "And this is coming from the guy who just **had** to have that… whatchacallit… Apple watch?"

Cap blushed slightly and then glanced away embarrassed, "Well, hanging around Tony has made me appreciate… technology."

"Hmph. You sound like some Baby Boomer." Barnes replied and resumed packing his room.

A soft knock on the apartment door surprised Rogers, who turned quickly and put the coffee cup he was wrapping down. Curious, he approached the door.

Sharon stood on the other side, a file box in her hands and one at her feet. She looked very tired in her grey pantsuit with her CIA badge hanging lopsidedly from the collar. Cap concluded it had been a long day at work. "Hi, 'neighbor'. Is this a bad time?"

"Sharon! No, not at all. Let me get this for you." Steve took the box from her, stacked it upon the other and carried both in. "C'mon in."

Stepping through the threshold she stood near the boxes, hands clasped before her, gazing out from the kitchen at the bachelor pad in the process of packing. "You've certainly been busy. Moving out to Stark's country estate?"

Cap shrugged and smiled depreciatively, "Not much holding me here in the city." _Except memories_ , he added silently.

Sharon approached Steve and took his hands in hers. Her exhausted brown eyes met his; "I wanted to say thanks for … everything. I know she would have appreciated your help."

Rogers noticed how much Sharon's eyes looked like her great Aunt Peggy's as the memories of the funeral, only a few days past, lay between them. The Union Jack draped upon her casket and the multitudes of flowers were fresh in his mind. The coffin, so light, as if Peggy was made of air was like lifting nothing, but in his mind held the weight of the world as he helped bury his first and only love.

Swallowing uncomfortably, he recalled his words to Tony standing outside the new Headquarters in upstate New York. _That man who wanted a family, stability, went into the ice 70 years ago. I think a different man came out. I'm home._ "It was the least I could do. She meant a lot to me." He covered his grief quickly, a skill he learned from Black Widow.

Sharon blinked and glanced away just after barely glimpsing the man her aunt Peggy saw for a nanosecond. Clearing her own throat, she said, "These boxes. They were hers and there were some explicit instructions to give them to you instead of my cousins. I think you really made an impression on her at the nursing home."

Steve recalled the moments when Peggy was lucid and how it seemed nothing had changed between them and how much it had hurt. But then the Alzheimer's got in the way and took the woman he loved with it.

"Thanks." was all he could muster, realizing he was still holding Carter's hands and actually how _nice_ that felt.

"STEVE! Where is the goddamned tape!" Barnes bellowed from his bedroom in frustration.

"Language!" Sharon reprimanded, looking to the door.

Steve cut his eyes toward Agent 13 and grimaced, "Not you too."

Sharon gave him a mischievous look, "Of course. Word gets around, Cap."

James's head popped out again and saw Sharon for the first time, holding Steve's hands. "Oh sorry. Did I interrupt something? Anything? Any hint of anything?"

"No." Steve dropped Sharon's hands quickly. She stuck them in her pockets.

"Well, then, introduce me!" Bucky climbed over boxes, packing peanuts and paper scattered over the living room, his silver arm glinting from its morning polish.

"Sharon, this is my best friend, James Barnes." Steve said neutrally, trying not to roll his eyes at Bucky attempting to make an impression, "And this is Sharon Carter, former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Peggy's grandniece. "

"Once a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, always." Sharon corrected.

"A pleasure to meet you. Call me Bucky. Please." He extended his right hand for a shake. Steve watched the act, trying not to snort derisively. "Say, do you have anything happening-"

Sharon shook it firmly and then looked at her watch suddenly cutting Bucky off. "I need to be going. I really just wanted to drop these by." Bucky shut his mouth with a click.

"Ok. Well then, thanks." Steve motioned to the door with his hand. They stood there for a moment at the threshold, uneasily.

"I'll be stopping by HQ when I can. I miss you guys." Sharon said with a hint of sadness.

"Maria and Natasha complain about not having enough gals about the place." Steve chuckled.

" I bet." Sharon smiled and leaned up to peck Rogers on the cheek. He stood there for a moment as if frozen. "Thanks again. We'll be in touch."

"Ok. Bye." Steve managed as she closed the door behind her.

"What the hell was that all about?!" James fumed from his spot arms crossed over his chest. "My God! You become Adonis and I'm second fiddle. I can't believe this! History is repeating itself. Just like her great aunt."

Steve exhaled, "Yes, she sure is."

Sighing in resignation, Bucky waved a hand at the boxes, "What's all this?"

Steve looked at the containers and replied quietly, "Some things Peggy wanted me to have."

"Oh. I'm going to get back to packing." James excused himself from the delicate subject of Peggy and her recent passing.

Rogers stared at the top box for a moment torn between letting the past go completely. He was a new man now, right? No need to dig up past feelings or anything. But why did she want him to have these? Was there something important she wanted him to see? Curiosity won out the better part of him.

Lifting the lid, he saw several file folders holding various affects. Lifting out a folder he paged through it. There were newspaper articles about him or the SSR becoming S.H.I.E.L.D. He found photos of the Commandos during the war Peggy had taken when they were in the field and some post war as well. A few photos had pictures of the Commandos at their respective weddings and children's birthday parties. Rogers felt himself smiling broadly at these happier times and marveled at the images of the Commandos' happy families.

Something fell from the folder and hit the floor. Rogers looked and saw a notecard with an image of the iconic Hollywood sign printed on the front. Picking it up, he saw a note written in Peggy's impeccable hand. A sad smile stretched across his lips.

 _January 1947_

 _My dearest Steve,_

 _Yes, I am writing, again, although if anyone at the office knew, I'd be sacked for insanity. After all, who writes to someone who can never read the letters?_

 _I missed it to be honest. The ability to put my thoughts and fears on paper helped so much last year as I worked to clear Howards name and earn myself a spot on the team. Sometimes I would go back and re-read my missives and reflect on how I've changed and the people around me have changed. They are very therapeutic._

Steve noticed her penmanship perked up.

 _Enough drivel. I have exciting news! Howard is opening a movie studio in Hollywood California because as he said it best, "Why not?" He sees great things in film and since he is a free man, he can do as he chooses. I am not sure what kind of stories he will tell, but if he does a biography on you, I will make sure he gets all the details correct._

Steve chuckled. Imagine, movies about him. There were better stories to tell!

 _Edwin is there now, preparing the house and I am bringing my friend Angie with me. She's hoping to obtain some roles since Broadway has not yielded any promising work. I think it will be nice to get out from the gloomy New York scene for a bit and enjoy some sunshine._

 _Our assassin is still at large, but I am confident if we meet again, I'll take care of her just fine._

 _I'll be sure to keep you abreast of any new developments. The world is moving forward in new directions._

 _Love,_

 _Peggy_

Steve tucked the notecard back into the folder. Apparently Peggy had more to say about her work at the fledgling S.H.I.E.L.D. He recalled the film at the Smithsonian where Peggy stated in an interview that even after Steve was gone, he was still affecting her life.

Closing the box, he thought _, Back at you, Peggy_.

"For Chrissakes Rogers! The tape?! Did you eat it or something?" Barnes whined from his room.

"Bucky, if you don't watch that mouth of yours " Steve walked toward his bedroom to help him look for the packing tape.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he knew he had some reading to do, but for a later time.

 **A/N SEPTEMBER…..**


	2. Born to Fight

**Born to Fight**

 **A/N… many things have changed since Agent Carter S1 ended and with the Civil War movie plot (recent trailers); who is in/out etc. I like to stay in cannon (vehemently). So it is with regret, I'm bending the movie to make the Steve and Bucky of the movie fit to my fic. The underlying issues are still there, but not as blatant. Let's just pretend that Bucky isn't as dysfunctional as he looks in CACW, hmm? Hints/Spoilers for Agent Carter and possibly Civil War. Nods to comic cannon as well.**

 _Avengers HQ, Upstate New York, 3 months post Age of Ultron, pre Civil War._

Sam completed the 360 degree spinning kick deftly, sending the mannequins flying painfully through the air. With a neat folding of his mechanical wings, he landed deftly, crouched and waiting for the next assailant.

Scarlett Witch levitated on jets of burning air planning her next attack. The Vision followed closely behind. Together they confronted Falcon, who launched skyward to meet them in the air. Beams of red light married with yellow sparked against the blue sky as Wilson flew like the expert pilot he was, avoiding the blasts. Occasionally a whoop of excitement would emanate from Falcons' lips.

Bucky sparred with Natasha in hand to hand combat, both loudly cussing in Russian and laughing as if they were close friends or lovers. Their bodies crashed together and separated like opposing forces of nature. The knives were real, not rubber, and tiny drops of crimson dotted the floor around their lethal dance. Neither of them seemed to feel the cuts.

Steve stood above on a raised platform observing his new Avenger crew, arms crossed over his chest appraisingly, a dissatisfied frown chiseled into his forehead, hooding his eyes. He wasn't angry at his new team. Actually, far from it. They were everything he could ask for and more. What concerned him was something else. Ultron put to rest permanently and all seemed well with the world, for now. But it wasn't. Trouble loomed on the horizon.

"Avengers, hit the showers!" Steve called over the sparring ground. The group stopped, looking almost forlorn that their fun was over.

"Aye aye, Captain." Sam replied as they separated to their various quarters.

"Reconvene at the mess hall for debriefing in two hours." Rogers said tersely and departed the grounds. Widow and Bucky watched him closely.

"Something isn't right." Natasha said in Russian as she wiped her blades clean on her sleeve.

"He's a worry wart. I'm sure it's nothing." Barnes replied but noted the shift in Rogers' body posture.

"Nice work today." Widow punched his left shoulder lightly. Bucky looked at her warmly, recalling his days with her in the Red Room when they weren't trying to kill each other.

"Yeah, you've gotten better yourself." he smiled, blue eyes sparkling, "Age has taught you some things."

Natasha had a snappy reply in her mouth but swallowed it. She had missed him all those years when he was HYDRA's puppet. The Russians were capable of such terror and it was too much for her to make a petty joke of it. "Thanks." she managed, feeling like a teenaged girl with a crush.

"I'm going to clean up." James managed, also feeling the awkwardness of their conversation building. Romanov watched him leave feeling a tiny part of her walk away with him.

Steve paced his apartment, which was no larger than any other recruits' space, restlessly. Tony had just wired in a transmission that the United Nations had held a committee meeting about Sokovia and how the world was going to help them rebuild. Who would help them with infrastructure? Refugees were streaming out of the tiny country as the power vacuum was felt keenly in the region. Surrounding nations were feeling the burden of helping the displaced.

Eyes were turning towards Tony and the Avengers for answers.

Tony hinted at some sort of agreement, a type of regulation to pacify those who called for imprisonment of all the Avengers. Cap weighed the words carefully. He didn't like their implied restrictions.

Stopping in his tracks, he scraped his hands down his face, exasperated. Tightly scrunching his eyes closed for just a moment, he wished he was still frozen, oblivious to the world where he could be at peace and just stop fighting. Thinking back to Erskine and the 'miracle' offer of the serum, would he do it again knowing what he knew now? His fists balled, clenched tight against his legs as the tension wrapped iron cords around his shoulders. Forcing himself to relax and regain control, he opened his eyes and uncurled his fingers. There was a solution to his unrest.

Steve went to his bedroom closet, pulling out a plain cardboard box. Tugging off the lid, the smell of old paper, like a great library, permeated his nose. Sheaves of letters all carefully filed away were waiting for him to read. He went to 1947, when Peggy had been called to Los Angles for the SSR and pulled out a few pages. Sitting on his bedside, he began to read, looking for some inspiration and calm from his departed beloved.

 _April 1947,_

 _Dear Steve,_

 _When I was a girl, I envied my brother. He was older, faster and stronger than I. He could do things I could not, yet never told me I couldn't do them too. I could have been anything in his eyes and I am ever grateful for his unwavering support._

 _Today is a momentous anniversary when I began my life as a spy. Today is also the anniversary of my brother's death in combat. It was a life altering event that I will never forget as long as I draw breath._

Steve's eyes widened. She never mentioned she had a brother.

 _It was a cruel yet effective twist of fate, I believe, that led me to where I am today and it is all because of his beauty and honesty. I never told you, or anyone at the SSR that I had been at one time engaged when the opportunity to join the SOE, a British analog of your CIA, appeared._

Steve swallowed; engaged? He thought… well… he thought… a lot of things, but this about Peggy was not one of them. Obviously she married after. He had met her children and grandchildren. But before him? Who was he kidding? Peggy was a vivacious, beautiful woman. Why wouldn't she have a life before him? Again the star crossed irony smacked him across the face painfully.

As if she read his mind her next sentence banished all his worries:

 _And if it were not for my brother, I would have never met and fell in love with you. I am sure you are very confused right now. Allow me to reminisce and tell the tale._

 _Bless my parents, they supported my dreams as a child but as I grew, the burden of what society wanted for my gender began to encroach upon my outlook on life. My mother was so proud of my work with the code breakers as was father, but they wanted a married daughter, not an SSR agent. I thought I wanted that too; I would put away the fancies of a younger time and assume my place in the world as it expected me to._

 _Michael was a kind man, strong willed and disciplined. He was also a great judge of character. His comment to me at my own engagement party was to forsake my betrothed and join the SOE. He nominated me for the position. At the time, I was insulted and hurt. How dare he tell me what I wanted!_

 _Well, Michael certainly had me figured out more than I had myself and what I was capable of. One of the last things he said to me was that I was born to be a fighter. I was made of sterner stuff to achieve greater things._

 _With his death, I saw that I was part of a larger world that I couldn't hide from. I was made to fulfill what I wanted in life, not what society had planned for me. I had a destiny and his sacrifice made that utterly clear. I was born to fight, and so I did._

 _Looking back so far on my career, through the pain and agony, I see how much good I have accomplished. Thompson doesn't see it, but I know others, like Daniel, do. Most importantly I see it and that in the end is all that matters, really._

 _To Michael, the second bravest man I ever knew, next to you, Steve._

 _Love,_

 _Peggy_

Steve contemplated her words deeply for a moment. In his ears, his blood sang as the message for him leapt from the page. Be true to oneself. The world all holds expectations of us, but if you cave in at the first sign of pressure, what kind of person were you?

Carefully folding the letter, Rogers replaced it and closed the box.

Tony be dammed. Steve knew what was right in his heart and he was going to stick with it, just like Peggy did. Gathering his thoughts, he went out to meet his team. He had a feeling they were not going to like what they heard.


	3. Teamwork

"What?" Falcon exclaimed as the rest of the Avenger team stood around the common room post workout. Natasha swore softly in Russian, eyes rolling, putting her hands on her hips. Barnes took on a dangerous dark shade of murder. The Vision remained impassively neutral, his cape softly floating around his shoulders. Wanda looked to him with a worried expression about what was going to happen next.

"I just got the news myself." Steve replied angrily hooking his thumbs into his belt, "And it has the sanction of the United Nations as well as the United States government."

"How? How can they do this? Would the world rather we just throw the towel in and let the bad guys take over? This is ridiculous." Sam fumed more, pacing and gesturing.

Rogers looked at the rest of the team who remained still, "You all are mighty quiet."

"Nothing I say will change anything. I am disappointed, but I'll go on." Natasha said nonchalantly with the air of a cat.

"You'll get a long. How about the team?" Steve felt a headache crawling up the back of his neck.

She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. Cap sighed, exasperatedly.

"Vision?" Steve asked wondering what the 'child' of Tony Stark would say against his master.

Vision turned his head in a quasi-mechanical way, his expression open, guileless, "With the information available, I would say the people have a case against us. It is of no surprise that the world is not pleased with the destructive actions of the Avengers."

"Against us?! Would they prefer if the Chitauri or Ultron or HYDRA were running the world?" Wilson protested.

Steve cut his eyes between the two noticing that Bucky had left the room. His guts began to ice over thinking Barnes was off to do something irrational.

"The combined destruction of Dr. Banner's outbursts as the Hulk alone, without any hostile threat, is enough to make any country's GDP blanch in shock." Vision responded coolly, "The Hulk was not so kind where he picked to do his rampage while we were dealing with Ultron."

"That wasn't his fault." Natasha bristled suddenly and cut a deadly look at Wanda.

"Don't blame me! I was mislead by Ultron! I If I had known better, I would not have warped his mind!" Wanda thrust her chin forward in warning to the assassin. The Vision put his hand on her shoulder to calm her.

"Dr. Banner has come to the aide of this team time and time again!" Natasha finished, her veneer casual but with the look of a killer in her green eyes.

"Enough!" Steve bellowed. The room silenced and all eyes were on him. "The Accords will be set. Either you are with them, or you are not. We are being summoned to New York in the morning."

The team left the room casually but the darkness hung over all of them like a poisonous cloud. Steve felt sick to his stomach. Nothing good was going to come of this.

* * *

 _May, 1947_

 _Dear Steve,_

 _Remember the days when we were young? When we thought we could do anything we set our mind to? Yes, time does play tricks on all of us, but me most of all, wishing I could have shared my adventures with you in person. I miss our friendship and our teamwork._

 _Daniel was in rare form today, and I could not disagree with him if I tried. In Los Angeles, we were uncovering a new threat to the world in the form of a strange new material called Zero Matter._

 _Worst of all, Jack was being a total ass. He dared to order me back to New York. Order me! Preposterous._

 _And I thought, in my classic style, that I could do it all. Hell bound I was to make Jack eat every last misogynistic word he had ever uttered about me as well as get the job done. Daniel interrupted me and made me realize that I could not do it alone. I need help. I need a team. I need… friends._

 _The world is made so that we do not have to go it alone._

 _Every so often I have to remember that before I put more scars on my body or grey hairs on my head._

 _I wished we could have worked more together, Steve. Right now, though, I have been reminded not so gently that I do have friends who care very much for my welfare and I theirs._

 _Peggy_

The aged paper with the black liquid handwriting trembled slightly in his hands as Bucky read the letter Peggy had written to Steve. He held it so lightly it almost slipped through is fingers to the floor below. The memories of Peggy slowly coalesced into the woman he recalled briefly in the war. He never had the rapport that she and Steve shared, but they were friendly, if you could call being totally ignored as a 'friendly' relationship.

Glancing up at the file box where Steve kept the treasure of letters from her, he didn't worry about Rogers being mad for reading them. Cap often shared the less serious ones with him to make him smile or laugh about the past or to piece together lost thoughts.

This letter was the perfect thing Steve needed today. The door to the apartment opened abruptly as James looked up in that direction.

"Dammit Barnes, I've been looking all over for you!" Steve barked more harshly than he intended, striding into the room, his blue eyes flashing. "We get news like this, and you just bug out." Every fiber of Rogers' being bristled with negative energy like Thor's lightening. "My team gets ripped apart right before my eyes! Stark is going to destroy what we stand for! And …. And … I'm scared."

Bucky said quietly, "Read this."

Steve stopped mid stride and looked at him, almost bewildered, "What?"

"Read this." Barnes said again, extending the timeworn paper with his metal hand.

Rogers stopped and took the paper gingerly, his eyes loosing the fire of anger, softening to a more tranquil blue as his mind winged back to days past. Drinking in the letter like cool water, Barnes saw the frown lines slowly relax and fade. A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth suggesting that he could hear Peggy's voice echoing from the past.

Finishing, he glanced up at James questioningly.

"Remember what I told you in 1942 before I shipped off?" Barnes asked.

"Which part? The jerk or punk part?" Cap answered skeptically.

"The part where I told you'd I'd be with your sorry ass till the end of the line?" Bucky answered mockingly.

"Yeah." Steve replied and flopped down in a chair, pinching the bridge of his nose with a hand, squeezing his eyes shut as the snake of a headache wound itself around his skull.

"Well, apparently Peggy and I have something in common. We like you, although why she liked you, I **still** have no idea." Bucky replied as Steve chuckled a low sound, "And I still mean it when I said I'd stick by you. You've done the same for me. Right now, you need friends."

"Yeah. Not sure how many will stay with me after tomorrow." Steve replied, glancing at James.

"Where are we going tomorrow?" Barnes asked, his brows knitting together cautiously.

"To the future." Rogers responded with a deep sigh.

Barnes didn't like how that sounded.


End file.
